


come for the noodles, stay for the beer

by SugarFey



Series: The Sky Is Here For Both Of Us [4]
Category: The Expanse (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 00:31:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16315655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarFey/pseuds/SugarFey
Summary: “It’s one dinner, it won’t kill you.”Naomi convinces Drummer to have dinner with her and Holden. Drummer is less than enthusiastic about this plan.





	come for the noodles, stay for the beer

**Author's Note:**

> Here is another instalment of 'The Sky Is Here For Both Of Us.' Many thanks to holdenscoffee (spacebarista) for discussing this idea with me and helping me plan, and to L for planning help and for contributing several sentences to the second scene.
> 
> As always, this fic can be read as part of the series or as a standalone.

 

As the second in command of Tycho Station and former captain of the _Behemoth_ , not to mention her deserved reputation as a hardass and a crack shot, Drummer isn’t used to people dismissing her orders. Most people respond with a hastily shouted “yes, _bosmang_ ” before scurrying off to follow her requests, and one refusal from her is enough to kill any proposal stone dead. Naomi Nagata, however, has never been one of those people, and right now, it’s infuriating as hell. 

“Come on,” Naomi insists, standing in front of Drummer with her hand outstretched. “It’s one dinner, it won’t kill you.”

Drummer pointedly ignores the hand and stays sitting in her chair. “Have you tried the mushroom soup on Deck Twelve?” 

Naomi heaves a deep breath as though she’s fighting to stay calm. “We’re meeting Jim for dinner, not storming a station.” 

“I have to be on shift.” 

“No, you don’t,” Naomi says simply. “I checked the duty logs and you’re not on for another three hours. You’ll have your hand terminal for emergencies. We’re going.” 

“There are many emergencies on Tycho,” Drummer replies hopefully, folding her legs for good measure.

“ _Camina.”_  

Drummer can see that Naomi’s patience is fraying, but her natural inclination for stubbornness persists. “I don’t see why we have to meet him at all. We already sorted out the ‘boundaries,’ as he put it.” 

Okay, that did sound petulant, even to her. 

“Right.” The inflection in Naomi’s voice suggests that she has moved well beyond ‘mildly exasperated’ and is verging on ‘seriously annoyed.’ “Because it would be totally unreasonable of me to want the people I care about to actually get along.” 

Of course, Naomi knows exactly which words will soften Drummer up. This thing between them is still fragile and newly-born, and the thought that Naomi cares for her, that she wants to be together despite everything, is still enough to crack Drummer’s toughest resolve. 

“…Fine.”

“Thank you.” Naomi kisses her on the cheek and takes her hand. “And be nice.”

Drummer grins nastily as Naomi helps her to her feet. “Oh, I’m always nice.”

 

* * *

 

They find Holden sitting at a table in a corner of the restaurant, studying the menu. He stands up when he spots Drummer and Naomi weaving their way through the maze of chatting diners. 

A soft glow of happiness plays on Naomi’s face as they approach the table. “Hey, Jim.” 

She looks across at Drummer as though she expects Drummer to say something. Drummer gives Holden a curt nod instead and slides onto the bench by the table without invitation. 

Holden pulls out a chair for Naomi, because of course he does, then sits down and directs his attention to Drummer. “Uh, hi. How are you going?” 

“Fine,” she snaps. 

The last time Drummer and Naomi met with Holden, it was eight months ago and it was practically a business meeting, with Naomi doing most of the talking. The arrangement was clear; Naomi would be with Drummer whenever the _Roci_ docked on Tycho. The fact that Drummer is here in a restaurant when she could be making Naomi come spectacularly is all the more reason to be irritated with James fucking Holden. 

“It’s nice to see you in a situation that isn’t life or death,” Holden announces. 

Drummer stares at him. Naomi closes her eyes, looking faintly pained. 

Fortunately, at that moment a harassed looking waiter appears to take their orders. Drummer gets the noodles, as does Naomi. Holden orders the soup. _Idiot._  

The waiter leaves, and a silence sets in that immediately turns awkward. Holden gives her an uncertain smile across the table and Drummer looks blankly back at him, tapping her fingers against the smooth metal surface until Holden’s smile finally disappears. She leans back in her chair, ready to fold her arms and plunge right into her Intimidating Captain of the Biggest Warship routine, when Naomi gives her a sharp kick under the table.

The message in Naomi’s eyes is obvious. _Remember, you promised to be nice._  

By the time their food arrives, Holden seems to have rallied well enough to try again. “How’s work?” 

Drummer shrugs. “I spent half my shift sorting out contract disputes.” 

Naomi flicks her a sympathetic look. She had been on the receiving end of Drummer’s rant earlier. Fred had sent Drummer down to a meeting with the Ceres traders under the guise that a Belter moderator provided better optics. By the end of the meeting Drummer was ready to shoot everyone in the room, and Fred as well. 

At least Naomi had been most helpful in getting Drummer to relax after her shift. Just the thought of it is enough to ignite a low heat deep in her belly. She glances over at Naomi, waiting for the answering smirk to tell her that Naomi is remembering the same thing, and thinking about all the ways Drummer can repay her later. 

Except Naomi isn’t looking in Drummer direction, she’s saying something to Holden. Drummer tries not to roll her eyes and focuses on chewing her noodles. 

The food in this place isn’t half bad. The rice noodles actually have some flavour and the kitchens grow their own herbs in the hydroponic bays that also serve as wall decoration. The beer is a high quality Martian import. Much as she hates to admit it, Holden chose well. 

Naomi nudges her arm. “Drummer?” 

“Hhhnn?” Drummer responds through a mouthful of noodles. She appreciates Naomi using her surname in public. She can count on one hand the number of people who know her first name, and Holden does not need to be one of them. 

Naomi huffs. “I said I was going to the head.” She gets up from the table, frustration written in the taut line of her shoulders and back. 

Drummer watches her go and then looks down at her food again, intending to spend the time eating. 

Holden, naturally, hasn’t gotten the message. “So, contract disputes, huh?” 

“Good way to pass the time,” she mutters back. She plasters a sweet smile on her face and looks him dead in the eye. “You can invent new ways to kill every person at the table.” 

Holden just nods, sympathetically. “Yeah, I get that. I feel that way too when I haven’t had my coffee.” 

_The man is as dense as a black hole._ “Of course, the two situations are so similar.” 

Holden’s smile is tight. “Look,” he says, apparently abandoning the joking tone. “We should try to get along. For Naomi’s sake.” 

Drummer snorts. “Please. The only thing we agree on is Naomi’s ass.” 

Holden chokes on his soup. His eyes scrunch as he splutters helplessly, feeling around for his drink, and Drummer calmly hands him a napkin.

“Thanks,” he grunts, mopping himself up. He has the grace not to glare at her. “I grew up with eight parents,” he continues, apparently undeterred, “trust me, it’ll make this arrangement much easier if we’re not at each other’s throats.” 

Drummer leans back and crosses her arms as she evaluates his statements. If he wants to speak frankly, she can respect that. She likes it when people tell the direct truth instead of hiding behind a puzzle of fancy phrases. “Why did you agree to this?” 

Holden raises his shoulders to shrug, like an Earther would. “I saw how much you cared about her on the _Behemoth._ I want Naomi to be happy. She loves you. If loving you makes her happy, then that’s what I want for her too.” 

He may as well have kicked her in the chest. 

_She loves you._

_Naomi loves you._  

Did all Earthers throw the word around so freely? Perhaps it means less, if you speak about it more.                                                                                     

“If you hurt her,” she says, letting the danger rumble through her voice, “or if she gets hurt on your watch, I will hunt you down.” 

Surprisingly, Holden doesn’t get defensive. He doesn’t even blink. He just stares at her with an earnestness that she has long since lost, if she ever had it at all. “You’d have to beat Amos and Alex to the punch. But you probably would. Hell, if that ever happened, I’d hand you the gun. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Naomi.” 

Drummer has known enough liars and con artists to tell when someone is telling the barefaced truth. Her lips curve. “Maybe we do agree on more than one thing.” 

Naomi chooses that moment to walk over from the far end of the restaurant, new drink in hand. “So,” she proclaims, raising her glass in greeting and swaying slightly, “you two managed not to kill each other while I was gone?” 

Drummer waits until Holden is taking a sip of his beer and smirks at Naomi. “We love your ass.” 

Holden’s second choke of the evening is even more satisfactory than the first. He wipes his mouth with the napkin again and this time he does glower at her. “Stop _doing_ that.” 

Drummer winks at him and pats the empty chair at the table between them. Naomi plunks herself down without spilling a drop of her drink. Always a Belter girl at heart. 

Naomi places a hand on each of their knees, giving them a squeeze. “Damn right you both love my ass.” 

The rest of the dinner passes pleasantly enough. They have a round of drinks after the food is cleared away and Drummer even allows herself to chuckle at some of Holden and Naomi’s jokes. There’s a warmth and comfort in their gestures, in their laughing voices and lingering looks, that speaks to how long Naomi and Holden have been together. Holden catches Naomi’s hand when she waves her glass in front of his face, and the casual ease of it stings. 

Naomi must have caught the shift in Drummer’s mood, because she presses her knee against Drummer’s, tilts her head and gives Drummer a small smile. Private. Just for them. 

Oh, she needs Naomi in her bed right _now._  

Naomi laughs a little to herself, her fingers dancing on the rim of her glass. 

Forget the bed. The bathroom will do fine. Drummer’s had sex in worse places. 

Holden clears his throat. “Well, I’m heading off. Got… engine stuff to work on.”

Naomi’s eyes twinkle. “Right. Wouldn’t want to keep you from that.”

“Ladies.” Holden gets up from the table, and in moments, Drummer and Naomi are alone.

 

* * *

 

Drummer congratulates herself on holding out until she and Naomi get back in her quarters. As soon as the doors have locked, though, they collide together in a hurricane of want and need and lust, tripping over their boots and laughing at their haste to shed clothes and collapse onto Drummer’s bunk. 

Drummer longs to push Naomi against the wall, lift Naomi’s legs around her waist and fuck her standing, but her spine isn’t up to the pressure yet. She straddles Naomi’s hips instead, pinning Naomi in place as she pulls her bra over her head. 

Naomi sits up, wrapping her arms around Drummer’s neck. Their bodies melt together as Naomi’s forehead rests against hers, a moment of stillness in the spinning world. 

“Thank you for tonight,” Naomi sighs. 

“Well.”  Drummer kisses her softly. “We want you to be happy.”


End file.
